Nursing students are taught leadership but it is a quality they already exemplify in Nursing Student Council, run by nursing students for nursing students.

The council fundraises and plans the Nursing grad, as the cost is not covered by the department, but they want to be clear that they are more than just a fundraising committee. They believe that, as future nurses, it is important to maintain a presence within the community by helping out with events such as food drives. The council is also the voice of the nursing students at Red River College. They encourage all nursing students with any questions or concerns to come and talk to them and they will do their best to lead students in the right direction. While RRC has a larger student council, the nursing student council believes in the importance of a program specific voice, stating “It allows us to voice concerns specific to our program because who knows nursing students better than nursing students themselves.”

First Student Council Meeting – September 9th 2016

The council also encourages students to get involved in their field. They are now a part of the Canadian Nursing Students Association (CNSA), which is an association for nursing students across Canada that gives students a voice at a federal level. The CNSA is holding a national conference in Winnipeg this year and nursing student council is hoping a few RRC nursing students will be able to attend.

Putting on events and fundraisers is a major component of the council. During orientation week, the council held a Welcome Back Party for the nursing students. The evening consisted of games, raffle prizes, and a 50/50. There are also a number of events planned for the following year including a Halloween social, a Kernels Popcorn fundraiser, bake sales, food drives, and many more to come.

Nursing student council is currently run by Co-Presidents, Karen Calitis and Paige Procter, as well as Vice President and CNSA Official Delegate, Jake Kahler.

Karen, Paige, and Jake encourage all nursing students to get involved, if they can. There is no cost to join and, as students themselves, they know that Nursing is a busy program. They only ask students to put in the amount of time they can give. The council is striving to meet once a month but is looking at a minimum of one meeting per term. They will also need volunteers for their many events. The first student council meeting was held on September 9th.

L-R: Jake Kahler, Karen Calitis, Paige Procter

They hope that the students will work together towards celebrating graduation, reiterating that grad is funded and planned by students so “what we put into our grad as students is what we are going to get out of it for a party.” This is not to say that nursing student council is only beneficial for students in their third year. By working with student council, nursing students of all years will be able to network with other students from different years, gain experience working with a team, and future insight into what they can do for their graduating year.

Nursing student council would like students to know that if they are available to help, they would really appreciate it. If students are interested in helping out or just want to voice their questions or concerns, please email any of the three executive council members. The council can also be followed on Instagram at bn_awesome. They are also currently working on a Facebook page, so keep an eye out for that!

They are kicking off the school year with a Kernels Popcorn Fundraiser! Download the order form here. All students and faculty members are welcome to order and support nursing student council. The fundraiser began on September 9th. All forms are due by Friday, September 30th.

On behalf of the Nursing department, we thank the nursing student council for the wonderful work they are doing!